


Ride: Chapter Three

by pinto_round_robin, scifishipper



Series: Ride [3]
Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: Angst, Chris needs snacks, Deep Bros, M/M, Pit stops and whatnot, Zach needs cell service
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 02:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3960397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinto_round_robin/pseuds/pinto_round_robin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifishipper/pseuds/scifishipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After only a few hours on the road, Zach isn't exactly a model traveling companion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ride: Chapter Three

An hour out of LA, Chris curses when he tries to tune the radio and finds nothing but static. “I guess it’s time to pull out the electronics,” he says, startling Zach out of his reverie. The scenery has been nothing but flat and beige with only brightly colored vehicles and road signs to break the monotony.

“What do you mean?” Zach asks, glancing at Chris’s face and then down to his knees. He’s thinking of his phone, tucked under the driver’s seat where Chris had stowed it after declaring that phones were off limits. 

“Just wait, wait’ll you see this,” Chris answers and Zach watches him pull out his own iPhone and plug it into a jack on the front of the radio controls. 

“Hey! No fair. You said no phones,” Zack sputters. 

He takes a closer look at the radio and realizes it’s not vintage at all, even if it’s styled to look like it. “Oh my god, you are such a cheater!” Zach points at the radio and thwacks Chris’s wrist as he taps on the iPhone screen. “You upgraded the radio!” Zach harrumphs in exaggerated dismay. “So much for my nineteen-fifties roadtrip experience, Chris. You’ve ruined it.” He crosses his arms over his chest and pretends to pout.

Chris just laughs and diverts his arm away from Zach. “Yeah, right. Can you imagine listening to static for hundreds of miles? No way. But really, it’s cool, right?” Chris grins and tosses his phone onto the gray center console on the hump between their feet.

“I guess, but don’t even tell me there’s a hot tub in the trunk.” 

“Ha. No way, man. Just the radio and, well, a rebuilt engine so I could use unleaded gas.”

“Oh, my god. I didn’t even think about that. We are so ruining the planet with this road trip, Chris. I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Zach says, knowing full well he’d invited himself.

“Me? I—what? You practically shoved yourself into the car, dude.” Chris laughs and nudges Zach with his elbow.

“Yeah, well, I’m regretting it already. Seriously, though, how many miles to the gallon does this thing get?” Zach looks around the car, realizing just how old the thing is. Twice his age and he only hopes Chris used a good mechanic. The last thing he wants is to be stranded out in the middle of the desert because Chris has a fantasy of fulfilling Dinah Shore’s invitation to ‘see America’.

“Don’t worry about it. You can hide your eyes when I fill up the tank.” Chris looks over and winks at him. 

“Christ,” Zach sighs and sinks down into the seat. The damn uncomfortable seat, if he’s honest, but since their trip has just started, he keeps his mouth shut. He’ll have plenty of time to complain when Chris starts quivering about his delicate skin burning from the sun overhead. 

A moment later, when the air fills with the familiar strains of Frank Sinatra, Zach can’t stop himself from smiling. “Nice choice,” he says and leans his head back against the headrest. Leave it to Chris to pick just the right thing to change the mood.

“I know, right?” Chris’s tone is bright and happy and Zach feels his grumpiness starting to ease. The car might be a deathtrap, but at least he’ll die with his best friend by his side.

~*~*~

By late morning, the sun is scorching above them and Zach has a headache from the constant wind whipping around the car’s interior. No matter how much he hunkers down, it feels like he’s inside a hurricane with nothing but blank land for miles around. He’s more than relieved when they see signs for Bristow, Nevada, and their first break. 

Zach straightens when Chris pulls the car next to a pump and leans over to fish under Chris’s seat for his phone. 

“Hey, watch it!” Chris says and jerks his leg away from Zach’s arm. 

“Need my phone. I assume I can use it when we’re not actually driving?” Zach’s tone is sharp and he’s a little annoyed at Chris for making the no phones rule. He feels disconnected and weary and frankly, has no idea how he’s going to make it on this ‘take you where the wind blows’ road trip. How long did they say it was going to be, anyway?

“Sure, dude. It’s cool.” Chris gives him a wary look and gets out of the car. Zach suppresses a twinge of guilt. He’ll get over it. 

Phone in hand, Zach hauls himself out of the car, pulling at his tshirt where it clings to his back. It’s hot as fuck and he thinks fondly of his air conditioned hybrid, wondering if Chris’s car even has air conditioning. This could be a very long trip, he thinks, grabbing his baseball hat from under his seat. He turns his phone back on and goes to find the bathroom while it boots up. The cashier is a young twenty-something with tattooed arms and a thick silver septum ring. He pulls his baseball hat down and asks for the bathroom key. If he recognizes him, the guy doesn’t let it show and Zach is relieved to go unnoticed. Fans are not a thing he can deal with right now. 

When he emerges from the men’s room, Chris is right there by the door. “Oh, hey. You waiting for this?” Zach shakes the giant block of wood with a silver key dangling off the end. 

“Yeah, thanks, man. You wanna get snacks?” 

Zach glances over at the rows of chips and pretzels. “Not really. Don’t we have a bunch in the car already?” 

“Yeah, but what if I don’t like those?” Chris asks, obviously trying to be charming, but Zach doesn’t play along. Chris shrugs and closes the bathroom door. 

With a frown, Zach peruses the two overcrowded snack aisles. It’s all high carb, high fructose junk and he can’t bring himself to choose. Instead, he goes to the refrigerated section, and with some surprise, finds green iced tea. He sees from the label that it’s full of chemicals too, but he’s thirsty and gives in. He grabs two bottles of water while he’s at it. He heaves a put-upon sigh and remembers how he could find exactly what he wanted at the market near his loft. Well, the loft that used to be his. Now, though, Miles is out of his life, the loft is sold, and he’s stuck in a shitty gas station in the desert. 

“Thirsty Zach?” Chris asks, coming up on his right side.

Zach looks down to where he’s holding the bottles and shrugs. “Gotta have something to do with my mouth. Can’t talk in the wind tunnel of Bel Air.”

“What do you mean?” Chris wrinkles up his face.

“Come on, you were singing Sinatra at the top of your lungs and I could barely hear you. Apparently nineteen-fifties housewives and their hubbies weren’t big on conversation.”

“It’s not that loud. Jeez, Zach.” Chris walks away with a hard set to his shoulders and stands in front of the junk food aisle. Zach thinks about going over to him, but checks his phone instead. He’s only got one signal bar, so he goes back out into the heat, trolling for more. 

He walks farther than he means to, all the way over to the diner next to the gas station. It’s another straight-out-of-the-fifties place but he’s able to check his email and twitter. There’s so little of interest that it’s barely worth it. Nothing from Miles, of course, and he’s not even sure why he cares. It’s over. 

“Zach!” He hears his name and looks over at Chris who is waving his arms in the air. Zach signals back and Chris waves him over. Zach shuts down his phone again and shoves it into his pocket.

By the time he gets back to the parking lot, Chris has pulled away from the pumps and is waiting at the side of the parking lot. Zach slides in and drops his drinks on the floor. 

“You okay, man?” Chris asks, his blue eyes bright and concerned. 

Zach feels another pang of guilt. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Zach lies, hoping Chris will just let it go.

“Cause you kinda seem like you hate this.” 

“Shit.” Zach rakes his fingers through his hair. “No, man. I mean it’s great. I’m just being a dick. I’m ruining this for you. I’m sorry.” And he means it. Chris has been more relaxed than he’s seen him in months and here he is blowing it big time.

“No, it’s cool, I know you’ve been freaking out. I just, I don’t know, I thought this would get your mind off of things…you know, Miles.” Chris says the name hesitantly, which tells Zach that he’s really been a bitch about it lately. 

“I guess I haven’t really had time to think about everything, at least not a lot. The break up was so public, I guess I just kept my head down and focused on work, you know?”

Chris nods and Zach continues, “With filming being over and the wrap party, I guess it’s just all hitting me. In some ways, I thought it would hurt more, but mostly it’s just…I don’t know. It just sucks. I mean, I talked and talked about how great Miles was… I guess I didn’t expect it would go this way.” Zach rubs his face and lets out a breath. “It’s cool, though, really, man. The trip’s gonna be great. It’s totally what I needed and you’re great for letting me tag along. I have to get this shit out of my system and get back on track. If it doesn’t get better, you can smack me, all right?” Zach grins and clasps Chris’s bicep. “I mean it, Chris. This is going to be good for me. For us. We’re going to have a blast.” He tries to make it sound true and he guesses some of it is.

Chris appraises him and looks like he’s about to speak but thinks better of it. Instead, he reaches over and pulls a map from the glove compartment. “Here. Pick a direction.”

Zach takes the paper map and unfolds it across the glimmering dashboard. He points to their location. “Okay…so, let’s see. We’ve got Vegas, of course, which I don’t know, I’m not a fan. The Grand Canyon after that if we wanted… We could go more south, toward Texas, or north toward Utah and maybe cooler weather?” He glances at Chris, who is leaning close and staring intently at the map.

“Vegas could be fun, but what about this?” Chris points to a tiny number on the map.

Zach squints and makes an excited sound. “Oh my god, Route 66! Dude, that’s brilliant. Yes. That’s perfect.” Zach feels unexpectedly excited. “That would be so cool.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Chris teases as he leans back in his seat. 

Zach grins. “I am sure,” he says, enunciating every word. “You have no idea, man. My dad. Shit. I totally forgot about this.” Zach scrapes a hand across his scruffy jaw. “In one of our old albums, I saw pictures of him with a Route 66 road sign. My mom told me he went with some friends on a road trip when he graduated high school. Somewhere around the Missouri/Illinois end of it.” Zach takes a moment and looks around at the chrome and classic interior of the Bel Air. “I wonder what kind of car he drove. Dude, this is so cool!” He feels his grin getting wider and his heartbeat picking up. 

Chris grins back, relief evident on his face. “Awesome! That settles it. Let’s do old man Quinto proud. Route 66 it is!” Chris turns the key, revs the engine, and the car rumbles to life.

Zach feels a spark of enthusiasm growing inside his chest, displacing just a fraction of the mixed up feelings he’s been carrying around about Miles. He can’t help but grin when Chris cranks up the tunes and the car curves onto the highway that will connect them to Route 66. 

When their exit appears a few minutes later, Zach looks over at Chris who meets his eyes and gives him a bright smile. 

“Ready, man?” Chris asks, slowing the car and easing onto the exit ramp.

Zach nods and points forward. “Absolutely!”


End file.
